Common name: currawang
Acacia sparsiflora Maiden APNI* Synonyms: Racosperma sparsiflorum (Maiden) Pedley APNI*
Description: Erect or spreading tree 5–15 m high; bark hard and corrugated or fissured and flakey, grey, brown, brownish grey or reddish brown, often dark; branchlets angled at extremities, glabrous or with scattered hairs.
Phyllodes dimorphic, narrowly elliptic to very narrowly elliptic or ± linear, usually subfalcate or falcate, 9–22 cm long, 6–12 mm wide, hairy with scattered hairs and becoming glabrescent or hairy only on margins, longitudinal veins numerous, closely spaced, non-anastomosing, 1–3 more prominent, 4–6 (-7) veins per mm, apex acute sometimes with a mucro; 1 small gland at base; pulvinus 2–3.5 mm long; phyllodes on young growth elliptic to narrowly elliptic, straight, 3–5 cm long, often silvery hairy.
Inflorescences 1–3 on an axillary axis to 2 mm long; peduncles 4–10 mm long, sparsely hairy; heads cylindrical, 3–6 cm long, bright yellow or sometimes paler; flowers distinctly separated during flowering.
Pods straight to slightly curved, ± flat but slightly raised over seeds, slightly constricted between seeds, 6–10 cm long, c. 3 mm wide, firmly papery, smooth or slightly wrinkled when dry, glabrous; seeds longitudinal; funicle folded several times forming an aril.
Flowering: May–August.
Distribution and occurrence: Yetman district. Grows in woodland, in sandy soils, on sandstone ridges.
NSW subdivisions: NWP
Other Australian states: Qld
The name refers to the scattered flowers on the spikes. Young trees with intermediate foliage resemble Acacia burrowii.
Text by P.G. Kodela (last updated May 2012)
Taxon concept: P.G. Kodela & G.J. Harden, Flora of NSW Vol. 2 (2002)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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